in FocusEDUCATION edition

Lords of the RingsTaking Education to Beijing

Summer 2008

Faculty of Education3700 McTavish Street, Montreal, QC, H3A 1Y2, Canada

Canada Post Corporation Publications Mail Agreement 40613662

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Inside this issue:

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Coordination: Ling Yuen

Editors: Ling Yuen | Mark Ordonselli

Writer: Richard Andrews

Photography: Carrie MacPherson (unless

otherwise indicated)

Graphic Design: Ling Yuen

Proofreaders: Lise Winer | Jennifer Coutlee

Cover (left-right): Martine Dugrenier, Victor Zilberman and David Zilberman

Faculty of EducationDevelopment and Alumni Relations3700 McTavish Street, Montreal, QC, H3A 1Y2, CanadaTel.: 514-398-1024 Fax: 514-398-1527E-mail: daur.education@mcgill.cawww.mcgill.ca/edu-alumni

Faculty of Education Newsletter Summer 2008

This academic year, theFaculty commemorates 150years of teacher education atMcGill. Celebrations reachedtheir peak at the 150thAnniversary Gala Dinner,Saturday, October 20, draw-ing together 350 alumni, stu-dents, faculty members andstaff from Canada, theUnited States, the Caribbeanand Europe.

The day began with an open-house exhibition thatwelcomed over 200 guests. With artefacts and photographs, visitors were transported through 150years of education history. Professors and studentsintrigued guests with displays and demonstrationsof the Faculty’s diverse research and pedagogy.

The anniversary celebrations have been a wonderfulopportunity for our professors and students toshowcase their groundbreaking research. Occupyingthree contemporary areas—Learning Sciences forthe New Times; Health and Lifestyle; and Diversityand Inclusion to Build Social Capital—our research ishelping shape the future of the Faculty.

The significance of these research areas has seen theFaculty’s grants increase considerably from a yearlyaverage of $935,000 in 1995-1998 to $6,700,000 inthe 2006-2007 academic year. It is estimated that wenow hold the highest per capita research incomeamong Canadian education faculties.

This level of research productivity would not havebeen possible without the hard work of our dedi-cated academic staff and outstanding students.Examples abound in this issue of In Focus and Iinvite you to contact the Faculty to find out more.

For more than 150 years, McGill Education hasnurtured talented educators who have shapedcountless young lives. Now, it seeks to attract andretain the best educational experts, broaden collaborations in research and education andstrengthen its undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education programs.

Campaign McGill will provide the support McGillEducation requires to educate superb teachers,refine and improve teaching methods, and developcurricula and teaching materials that enable futuregenerations to achieve their potential in life.

Dr. Jamshid Beheshti Interim Dean | Faculty of Education

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Jennifer Coutlee | Alumni Relations and SpecialEvents Associate

Development and Alumni Relations - keeping you connected!

Ling Yuen | Special Projects Coordinator

Amena Ahmad, BCom’07 | Administrative Coordinator

Ling is here to keep you informed through printpublications and our Alumni website. Keep upto date on alumni news, event information andphotographs at www.mcgill.ca/edu-alumni.

If you’ve ever attended an Education alumnievent, chances are you’ve had the pleasure ofmeeting Jennifer. Her mission is to keep yourcalendar full!

Ask Amena—she has the answers! The wheelthat keeps the DAR office turning, if you needany information about lost classmates or futureevents, Amena’s the one to call.

Dear Alumni and Friends,I feel very excited to have joined theFaculty as its Development Officer at thishistoric stage in education at McGill. Notonly have I been deeply impressed by theimportant work already being carried outin the Faculty, but I am now dedicated tomaking sure that we can continue to provide our students with the quality ofeducation that they require to realizetheir full potential.

This is why your gift is so crucial in helping us move forward.Your generosity ensures that our students can participate inexciting projects and excellent educational opportunities thatmake a lasting impact. Please take this opportunity to sendyour Alma Mater Fund gift with the form provided at the backof this newsletter. Each contribution, however big or small,goes a long way. With your help, we will continue to offer aneducation that is well beyond the ordinary. Thank you!

Katie WhiteheadDevelopment Officer | Faculty of Education

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Messages from the Faculty�

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EDUCATION 3C A T E

McGill’s Lords of the Rings Taking Education to Beijing

Grappling with the challenges of education must be goodtraining, particularly for three champion wrestlers headedfor Beijing this summer as part of the Canadian NationalOlympic Team.

“It’s a dream come true,” says three-time world silver medal-list Martine Dugrenier, BEd(PHE)’08. She and first-year BEdstudent David Zilberman and their coach, David’s fatherVictor Zilberman, MA’79, have their sights set on gold.

Dugrenier’s stellar wrestling career started nine years ago inCEGEP. “It was a fluke,” she says. “Coach Zilberman’s classwas the only one that fit my schedule, and my backgroundin gymnastics gave me an advantage over the other girls.”

Coach Zilberman has nothing but praise for Dugrenier’sachievements as a woman in a male-dominated arena.“Wrestling was long considered a man’s sport until 1989,when they first had women in the World Championships.But I believe an athlete is an athlete. No one thoughtMartine would become a world performer in wrestling, butshe’s been outstanding.”

“It was great that I could study while wrestling,” reflectsDugrenier who discovered that lessons learned whilewrestling relate well to school and life. “You need a strategy,an open mind and the ability to adapt quickly,” she says,“and my Education degree at McGill will also help mebecome a physical education teacher or a coach.”

David Zilberman also appreciates the support he receives atMcGill. “The Olympic trials involved a lot of travelling and itwas hard to keep up with my work. However, various professors really stood by me and gave me extra time andassistance. Having people help you accomplish your goalsmakes all the difference in the world.”

It’s rare to see a freestyle wrestling champion studyingearly childhood education, and Zilberman often finds he’sthe only male in the class. “I have no problem with that,”he says. “It’s good for young kids to have both male andfemale role models.”

Competing in Beijing will certainly enhance his role modelstatus. “It’s very exciting to represent Canada. The compet-ing, the training, the atmosphere at a competition – it’slike nothing else. And my father’s a great coach!”

Likewise, Coach Zilberman is undeniably proud of his son.“David put many years into the sport and this year heplaced 5th at the World Championships. Now he’s goingto the Olympics. It’s a big accomplishment.”

Himself a winner of multiple wrestling titles, CoachZilberman, a physical education teacher at Vanier College,has produced numerous World and Olympic medallists overthe last 30 years. He began coaching wrestlers at McGillwhile he studied for his Master’s in Comparative Education.

Looking to the Beijing Games, he says, “The competition’stough but I’m hopeful and optimistic about the chancesfor David and Martine.”

“Having people help you accomplish your goalsmakes all the difference in the world.”

(Left-right): Martine Dugrenier, Victor Zilberman and David Zilberman at the Reinitz Wrestling Centre, YMHA Snowdon.

Education goes to the Olympics

E N V I4 EDUCATION

Jennifer Brunet “Eat well, exercise and never lose hope” Jennifer Brunet, BEd’05, MA’08, a PhD student in the Departmentof Kinesiology and Physical Education, is exploring new ways toconvey this deceptively simple message to breast cancer survivors.

“Many of these women are physically inactive and don’t eatproperly, which raises the risk of cancer recurrence or other illnesses,” she says. “My research investigates how health profes-sionals can motivate cancer patients to adopt a healthy lifestyle.We’re looking at the personal and social barriers to change, andquestioning whether the majority of patients are inactive forphysical reasons or because of underlying psychological causes.”

Brunet wants to show breast cancer survivors that it is not necessary to drive to a gym and buy expensive memberships to bephysically active. “Beneficial activities are possible at home andcan be as simple as just walking around,” she says. “The trick is toprovide people with the necessary strategies, social support andskills to profit from the positive effects of exercise.”

With two of her relatives battling cancer, and one coping betterthan the other, Brunet admits that her mission to inspire herpatients is personal as well as professional.

“Many breast cancer survivors have undergone surgery and somehave been through breast reconstruction,” says Brunet. “We’refinding that physical activity and other interventions help reducestress and anxiety while increasing self esteem.”

“I was on a crowded metro with a little girl who had cerebral palsy.She reached up and affectionately patted a man on the bum. Heturned around and thought it was me!” recounts ShannahnMcInnis, MEd’04. The PhD student in the Department ofEducational and Counselling Psychology is passionate about society’s need to accept individuals with Down syndrome,Autism and other intellectual disabilities. It’s her lifelong work.

“My younger brother has Down syndrome and I’ve always ques-tioned whether it is the disability itself that causes his difficulties inachieving success, or the policies, laws and attitudes of thosearound him that create barriers.”

McInnis regards intellectual disability as a human rights issue and isresearching ways to end discrimination. These include strategies tohelp adolescents make the transition from school to employmentwith a focus on community inclusion.

“We’re so fixated on perfection that we assume we must fix peopleto fit some ideal,” she says. “Instead, we should extend our focusand work to integrate individuals, celebrating their differences.”

McInnis feels lucky to be carrying out her research at McGill. “Notmany places are looking at these specific issues,” she says. “McGillhas provided me with a very exciting opportunity to combine myinterests in developmental psychopathology and social policy.”

“In my life, many of my funniest, richest and mostunique experiences have occurred alongside

people with special needs.”

Students on the MoveShannahn McInnis Beautiful Minds

And what does an overworked teacher and PhDstudent do herself to reduce stress? “I play socceror simply go for a long walk,” she says. “That’swhat does it for me.”

“Physical activity and other interventions help reduce stress and anxiety.”

S I O N EDUCATION 5

“I want to give people a map that will guidethem to places they’ve never imagined.”

PhD student Charles-Antoine Julien believes libraries should be set uplike a Canadian Tire store, with all products on display where you canlook for what you need without necessarily knowing its name or category.

The former high-tech engineer is pioneering research on human-computer interactions and working to improve our access to knowledgeand discovery.

“Search engines like Google place the onus on the user to come up withthe right key words,” he says. “But this may not be what we need. I’mtrying to turn that around so that libraries show us what they have andwhat we can do with it.”

The School of Information Studies student finds current library cataloguing systems outdated. “It’s monks’ work done by hand in the21st century. We divide the world’s knowledge into science, arts, history,etc. But it’s not visually clear. I want to give people a map that willguide them to places they’ve never imagined.”

That map would enable users to fly around a visual landscape, look atdifferent subject areas and choose from options in a variety of media.

“Let’s say you’re interested in Iraq,” says Julien. “After flying pastSaddam Hussein you might see Babylonian astronomy or Mesopotamianart and then move on to the Persian Empire. As you’re cruising aroundhistory you might look at King Darius and encounter his second mistress. Who knows what you might find!”

Mi’gmaq student Janine Metallic, BSc(NutrSc)’96, BSc’99,MSc’05, shares UNESCO’s concern that 600 languages disappeared in the last century and up to 90 per cent of the world’s languages could be lost in the next 100 years.

The PhD student in the Department of Integrated Studies inEducation is helping her First Nations community of Listugujin Quebec’s Gaspésie region reclaim its language.

“My own niece and nephew remind me how important it isto learn our language. They can now communicate withtheir grandparents,” she says. “Another young man beingtaught Mi'gmaq described it as ‘filling a hole’ in his heart."

The community-based language revitalization project is primarily an oral teaching approach with instructors usingphotographs as a means to explore the language. "By usingimages, people learn to recognize objects or items and identify them by the sounds that they hear," she says.

A background in psychology and nutritional sciences givesMetallic’s language research significance beyond her community. “Health, language, identity and culture areinseparable,” she says. “So when an indigenous language islost, the whole world loses invaluable knowledge of medici-nal plants, food sources and ways to maintain the planet’sbiological diversity.”

“We’re not just saving a language but also indigenous knowledge and a way of looking at the world.”

Janine Metallic Filling a Hole in the Heart

Metallic has unearthed some of that knowledge in theMcGill archives, which she describes as a treasure trove oflanguage manuscripts, translations, records and journalsleft by linguists and missionaries. “Through my research,I am going back in time to speak with my people.”

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Charles-Antoine JulienDiscovering King Darius’s Mistress

6 EDUCATION

Claudia Mitchell Putting Passion into Policy

Our Faculty at the Forefront

“Local messages are the most powerful.”

The photograph shows children pretending to hang ayoung boy. The caption reads: “I'm HIV-positive. I might aswell be dead.”

“Local messages are the most powerful,” says Departmentof Integrated Studies in Education professor ClaudiaMitchell, who campaigns against AIDS, violence againstwomen and child abuse in Sub-Saharan Africa.

“When 14-year-olds create posters in their own languagesaying 'this is a problem,' it has a wider impact on the community than a poster from a large international aidorganization.”

A prolific writer and documentary-maker, Mitchell has beenusing media for social change for well over a decade.

“It amazed me that the whole village was willing to comeout and talk about issues,” she says, recalling one of herearlier projects in Zambia. “I realized they just needed avoice to start influencing policy-making at a higher level.”

Mitchell’s work helps provide that voice, not with petitionsand pens but with cameras and crayons. Her participants’photographs, drawings and videos make a passionate pleato governments and aid agencies for urgent action andtangible change.

Together with her colleagues and students, Mitchell is nowexploring new ways to more effectively present these grassrootsappeals to decision-makers.

“McGill itself has won international respect in this field, andwith a few extra resources we could do much more to make asignificant difference in Africa.”

Jeffrey Derevensky The Dice are Always Loaded“Our governments are addicted to gambling because the revenues are soenormous,” says Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology professor Jeffrey Derevensky, MA’73, PhD’76. “It’s no longer a sinister, under-ground activity, so how do we protect vulnerable people?”

Co-director and co-founder of the Youth Gambling Centre at McGill,Derevensky is on a mission to prevent gambling addiction. His team is busypromoting responsible gambling, identifying people at risk and treatingproblematic behaviour.

“The stereotyped gambler is the middle-aged male who’s lost his home, joband family,” says Derevensky, “but in reality, youth gambling worldwide ishigher than gambling in adults.”

The award-winning professor and his team have designed multimedia preven-tion programs used by field researchers, clinicians and treatment providersthroughout Canada and beyond. They visit schools, conduct workshops andeducate parents and professionals to be sensitive to gambling problems.

“We’re really committed to responsible social policies,” says Derevensky,whose research helped to shape Quebec’s Bill 84, prohibiting minors frompurchasing lottery tickets.

“We also work directly with youth, many of whom have already started gambling at the age of nine or ten. We give them real odds and try to teachthem the warning signs,” he says. “I remember telling one boy that he had agreater chance of getting struck by lightning than winning the lottery. Helooked out the window and said: ‘It looks pretty cloudy out there.’ ”

“In reality, youth gambling worldwide is higher than in adults.”

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David PearsallSkate Science for Blade Runners

EDUCATION 7

Catherine Guastavino Beyond Fantasy, Discover Virtual Reality

“McGill is probably the world’s number one in ice hockey mechanics.”

“We are developing new ways to explore interactivity combining vision, audition and touch.

The implications are limitless.”

David Pearsall, associate professor in the Department ofKinesiology and Physical Education, is using 3-D motiontracking technology to create virtual action models of athletes. He hopes these high-tech developments mightadvance Canada’s chances in the 2010 Vancouver WinterOlympics.

“The animated figures, in conjunction with numericalmeasures, enable athletes to understand intuitively what’sgoing on,” says Pearsall. “This same information also influences the design and product development that canprofoundly change athletic performance.”

Working with Nike Bauer Hockey, the biomechanicsresearcher and his team have spent several years measur-ing human movement and developing better designs forhockey and other winter sports equipment.

Pearsall’s high-tech biomechanics lab at McGill is equippedwith a simulated rink, high-speed cameras and motion sensors to measure and analyze specific aspects of athleticperformance.

“How to anchor a solid blade to a pliable, deformable footis a big challenge,” says Pearsall. “Profound performancechanges can be made—for example, 1980’s speed skatingused rigid blade runners locked to the boot. Biomechanic

Imagine a surgeon feeling every bump and curve of apatient’s tumour on an operating table in another city.Picture a student remotely studying an endangeredspecies and exploring its natural habitat in 3-D. CatherineGuastavino’s virtual reality research on sight, sound andtouch is bringing such experiences closer to reality.

An assistant professor in the School of InformationStudies, Guastavino, BSc’97, is examining how we processinformation from our senses and is applying this knowl-edge to the design of new technology for some veryinnovative purposes. Visit her lab and you’ll find hand-held sensors that enable the user to physically feel theshapes and textures of objects displayed on the screen.

“I’m trying to see what information can be best conveyedusing not only three-dimensional sight, but also soundand touch, as opposed to simply relying on two-dimen-sional graphics and text,” she says.

After receiving a BSc at McGill, Guastavino took her stud-ies to France, where she received an MSc in ComputerScience and Music Technology, followed by a PhD inPsychoacoustics. “I missed Montreal and McGill,” she says,explaining her decision to return, “and McGill Universityis at the cutting edge of the work that I’m doing. Younever know what you’ll discover next.”

R A L L

study led to an articulated attachment (the “klap” skate)and the new product broke world records. We are nowtrying to do the same for ice hockey skates.”

“Following a referendum, anti-independence militias hadgone on a killing rampage. I compiled data for the prose-cution of suspects and worked with police investigatingcrimes against humanity.”

Sforza continues to use his MLIS skills to fight crime as atechnical crime forensic analyst for the Royal CanadianMounted Police.

“We go to murder sites, drug labs and other crime scenesto extract and analyze evidence from information storagedevices such as computers and cell phones. It’s a great job -and a long way from book trolleys.”

Maria De Cicco, BA’82, DipEd’83, MEd’85

Forget the Gold Watch

Tired of your work? Stuck in a dead-end job?

Call Maria De Cicco. She’ll set you up for one of the estimated seven or more career changes employees willface in the next generation.

“The only constant is change,” says De Cicco, an adult education counsellor at Montreal’s Centre Paul Gratton.

“The days are gone when you retired with a gold watchfrom the one job,” she says.

“I once assessed a secretary whowas unhappy with her positionand found she had many transfer-able skills that could be enhancedwith some courses. She’s now anexecutive director.”

De Cicco is a regular guest speakerfor the Faculty and a mentor tograduates. “I love going back tohelp inspire students to pursuetheir dreams. McGill opened thedoors to my own journey.”

Alistair Ramsay, BSc(PE)’52

Globetrotting Legend

Australia’s first basketball legend shovelled coal in oceansteamers to work his passage from Sydney to Montreal. “Iwas pretty fit when I arrived,” says Ramsay. Reflecting on hisdecision to embark on the crossing, he explains that, “McGilloffered a Physical Education degree not available elsewherein 1949.”

8 EDUCATION

Reema Singh, BEd’03

The Chocolate Warrior of Avenue du Parc

True to her Sikh warrior tradition, Reema Singh has con-quered Montreal. Not with the sword, but with chocolatechai cupcakes, cayenne spiced brownies and other deadlydelights that meet little resistance.

Singh moved to Montreal for McGill’s BEd program, butcouldn’t find her favourite desserts in the city. She startedbaking her own exotic recipes, which became so popularthat after graduation she opened Cocoa Locale, a tiny cakeboutique.

“It has just taken off,” she says. “And I can always returnto teaching.”

Singh credits her Education courses for the skills and confi-dence needed to deal with people in a business setting. Shealso believes teaching and cupcakes have other similarities:“In the classroom you make people happy by sharing knowl-edge. In my case, I make them happy by sharing sugar.”

Mike Sforza, BA’89, MLIS’93

A Spine-tingling Career

You won’t find Mike Sforza in yourlocal library wheeling a trolley ofadventure thrillers. He’s too busy living them.

“There’s a misconception that LibraryInformation Science involves hidingbehind stacks of books,” says Sforza.“It’s really all about informationmanagement and analysis – the skillsneeded in intelligence work.”

As a reserve intelligence officer,Sforza used those skills in East Timoras a member of a United Nationspeacekeeping mission in 1999.

E N L I G

Exceptional Alumni

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Ramsay returned home with a love of basketball, which hepopularized from Australia to Tahiti as both a coach and asports administrator. The first director of recreation for thestate of New South Wales (NSW), he introduced majorchanges to sports education which were adopted nationally.

Ramsay also served as a senior inspector of secondary schoolsin NSW, where he demonstrated his passion for basketball byinstalling two regulation-sized courts at every school.

In 2003, the International Basketball Federation awardedRamsay its highest honour, the Order of Merit, for his serviceto the game.

With 55 years of high-level sports administration under hisbelt, including involvement on 11 Olympic Games commit-tees, Ramsay reflects, “I’ve had a good life, visiting manycountries.” Now retired, the 84-year-old founder of OceaniaBasketball adds, “But if it hadn’t been for McGill, it wouldn’thave happened.”

Neysa Sigler, BA’51, CertIncEd’52, MEd’71

Giving Hope to Montreal’s Children

Neysa Sigler triumphed over personal hardship and post-waranti-Semitism in the educationsector to become a source ofhope for children with learningdifficulties. “There were limits inthose days, but you dealt withit,” she says.

Sigler started out as a juniorschool teacher and developed acommitment to special educa-tion when she discovered herson had reading difficulties. “Ireturned to McGill for a Master’sin the field and am grateful forthe guidance of a wonderfulsupervisor.”

After graduating, Sigler workedas a counsellor for 15 years withthe outpatient psychiatric team at the Montreal Children’sHospital. “Knowing that you were making a difference forso many children made it the most fantastic job,” she says.

“I remember helping one little girl deal with learning diffi-culties and the problems that arose when her father aban-doned the family. She finished her education, got a job andnow sends me Christmas cards and pictures of her own kids.”

“If you love to work with children, there’s always a placefor you,” says Sigler, who recently retired to devote hertime to her own children’s children—all 12 of them.

Kathleen Wootton, BEd’85, MA’02

Mistissini Cree Leads the Way

Kathleen Wootton is the Deputy Chief of Mistissini, a Creenation in northern Quebec. Making waves as the nation’sfirst female deputy chief, Wootton has been proactive in

EDUCATION 9

empowering her people and encouraging them to take anactive role in policy-making.

“Your gender should not be an issue,” she says. “Whatreally count are your principles and values and puttingyour people first. I’ve also learned from raising kids thatyou don’t make promises you can’t live up to.”

Wootton completed her BEd at McGill and taught aboriginalstudents in British Columbia. She returned to join Quebec’sCree School Board and began an MA in EducationalLeadership at McGill. Just after graduation, Wootton wasinvited to run for Deputy Chief.

“People were looking for change and I heard them say itwas time we had women leaders in our community.”

Re-elected to a second four-year term, Wootton is oftenasked whether she’ll run for Chief. “I haven’t planned thatfar ahead, she says. “Anyway, I’ve always been chief in myhouse.”

Barbara Mumford, BLS’57

A Perilous Path to Publishing

Shortly after graduation, a fortune-teller saw “grass huts” in BarbaraMumford’s tea leaves. Just monthslater, she married a handsome engi-neer adventurer and accompaniedhim to Africa, where he worked onaid programs for international development agencies. For 20 yearsthey lived in various countries, whereMumford worked as a librarian andteacher.

“We travelled through deserts and jungles together,” shesays. “My first son was born in a remote Nigerian missionjust before the 1967 Biafran War. We escaped the countryamidst gunfire. In the rush, I nearly packed a snake curledup in our suitcase.”

Following a break in Canada, the family returned to Kenyaand lived near a game park outside Nairobi. “Giraffes

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Barbara Mumford, BLS’57 (Cont’d)would wander through the garden, leaving potholes andeating my hibiscus bushes.”

Books are still Mumford’s first love. Now settled in moresedate British Columbia, she works closely with writers’groups and in 2004 founded her own publishing house.She is kept busy publishing memoirs, travel tales, collectedshort stories and historical manuscripts, including her husband’s non-fiction books on Africa.

Her advice to other graduates also seeking an interestinglife: “Follow the path that you want.”

Mike Babcock, BEd’87

From the Redmen to the Red Wings

You may have seen him rallying his team as head coach ofthe Detroit Red Wings, but not many of us would haveseen Mike Babcock when he dominated Montreal’s icehockey rinks as the former captain of the McGill Redmen.

In fact, Babcock raised eyebrows several times during theplayoffs by wearing his “lucky” McGill tie behind thebench. Commenting on sporting superstitions he says,

“Anything that enables you to win, noproblem.”

It has taken more than luck to build a tri-umphant career as a hockey player andinternational coach. A McGill degree inPhysical Education opened the way toteaching in Montreal, where Babcockcoached local hockey teams and demon-strated his leadership in the sport.

Leading the Red Wings to victory in the2008 Stanley Cup finals, Babcock’s tal-ents have also been recognized in hisnomination for the NHL’s Jack Adams

Award for coach of the year,2007-2008.

And of his affinity to McGill?“I had a great time studyingand playing at McGill,” hesays. “I’m still in contact withmy roommates and friends. Infact we’re starting to organizeour 25-year reunion.”

10 EDUCATION

Amateur golfers face odds of up to 45,000 to one against scoring a hole-in-one just oncein their lives. Bob Berry, BSc(PE)’49, did it twice while helping others beat the odds as well.

A natural athlete who excelled at many sports, Berry graduated in Physical Education tobecome a high school teacher and county supervisor for Quebec’s Argenteuil School Board.He then entered business and reached senior executive levels at Cadbury Schweppes.

Berry was also a political activist. As president of a United Way agency in Toronto, he led thefight to restore its government funding and helped unemployed people find jobs.

“Thank you, McGill, for making all this possible – and for the memories,” Berry wrote beforehe passed away last December, aged 80. In an alumni article, he fondly recalled “eccentricclassmates” who flicked fellow athletes with towels in the locker rooms and an “uncher-ished” professor who set the young Mr. Berry up in a boxing match with a fearsome oppo-nent.

“Bob spoke a lot about what McGill meant to him,” says his widow, Jean. “In return, hehas left McGill the legacy of the Bob Berry Physical Education Scholarship, to be presentedfor the first time in 2009. As a great believer in fitness, he wanted this scholarship to helpthe University restore the declining importance of physical education.”

In 2002, Berry scored the equivalent of another hole-in-one. He was awarded the Queen’sGolden Jubilee Medal in recognition of his expertise and 40-year involvement in the not-for-profit sector.

The Facul ty Remembers Bob Berry (1927-2007)

Sandra BarbadoroDorothy BeaudoinLise BillyHenry A BowenErnest ButlerW. Huntley Cameron

Emala Campbell (Pike)Mary CousinsElizabeth G. Covernton (Bingay)Lana De LiamchinAnita DoddVirginia FergusonD. Ross FirthLea A. HodienerStephen R. M. JellettIvy C. Jennings

Bohdan KazymyraPatrick KelahearGeorge R. KoskiIrene V. LacknerEdmond Y. LipsitzMargaret A. MaclellandIan B. MacWhirterGrace B. MayoMargaret Millar (Burton)Roslyn Miller

Harry D. Morrison (former faculty)Ivor NewshamOttilie Redling PoronovichCarole RibackWayne Edward RobinsonEdward H. RopeleskiRobert D. RussellElaine Sanft-YaroskyLeonard B. ShawCarol A. Shetler

Suzette SouthRuth Stilman (Ordower)John SzuberSuzanne UjvariH. Arthur VespryAdoree Waygood (Wolf Lebrooy)Irma Cameron WillistonWinona E. WoodJohn E. YaleAnne M. Yandle (Carson)

I N M E M O R I A M December ’06 - May ’08

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Exceptional Alumni (Cont’d)

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“Thank you, McGill, formaking all this possible –and for the memories.”

EDUCATION 11I P A T E

The Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education (DKPE)

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The Department of Integrated Studies in Education (DISE)

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The Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology (ECP)

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James McGill Professor Dr. Claudia Mitchell received a majorCanadian International Development Agency grant to studypost-harvest management in Ethiopia.

Research funded by the Social Sciences and HumanitiesResearch Council (SSHRC) includes: Dr. Shaheen Shariff’s investigation on the impact of cyber-bullying on children andadolescents; Dr. Mela Sarkar, BA’82, Dr. Steven Jordan, PhD’96,Dr. Teresa Strong-Wilson, BA’87, DipColTeach’90, and Dr.Anthony Paré’s, BEd’79, MA’84, PhD’91, study of an easternQuebec Mi’gmaq community’s language revitalization; andDr. Doreen Starke-Meyerring and Dr. Anthony Paré’s examina-tion of the state of writing in Canadian doctoral education.

Also receiving grants were Dr. Annie Savard, BEd’92, MEd’94,for her research on teaching mathematics to at risk youth, fromthe Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la société et la culture(FQRSC) and Dr. Caroline Riches, PhD’01, and Fiona Benson fortheir work on new teacher education initiatives in our BEd pro-grams, from the McGill Teaching and Learning Initiative Fund.

DISE students attracting grants from external governmentagencies included Lisa Trimble, MA’04, and JonathanLangdon (SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships) and Lisa Trimble,Frances Helyar, Anjali Abraham, MA’05, Beverly Baker,BEd’99, Rodney Handelsman, MEd’07, and Hajra Waheed,MA’08, (FQRSC Bourses Doctorales).

Charlotte Boltodano received the Dr. Gauri Shankar Guha Awardin International Development Education, Amy Lee Cole won theGretta Chambers Fellowship in Education and Kevin O’Connor,BEd’96, MA’07, won the Ellen Edit Grub Stansfield Award.

Dr. Aziz Choudry joins the Department to teach InternationalEducation. Catherine Hughes, the coordinator of DISE grad-uate programs, retired in April 2008. We wish her a well-deserved, restful and rewarding retirement.

The Paulo and Nita Freire International Project for CriticalPedagogy was launched by Canada Research Chair Dr. JoeKincheloe and Dr. Shirley Steinberg during the 2008Education Graduate Students’ Society conference in March.

Dr. Catherine Sabiston and Dr. William Harvey, BEd’89,MA’95, PhD’06, received new operating grants from theSocial Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

Dr. Dilson Rassier and Dr. Tanja Taivassalo, BSc’93, PhD’01,were awarded new operating grants from the CanadianInstitutes of Health Research.

Also receiving operating grants were Dr. Enrique Garcia andDr. Catherine Sabiston from the Fonds québécois de larecherche sur la société et la culture (FQRSC).

Dr. David Pearsall and Dr. René Turcotte had their operatinggrant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering ResearchCouncil (NSERC) renewed.

Our graduate students achieved impressive results in recentcompetition for national scholarships, including: KerriStaples, MA’07, and Jennifer Brunet, BEd’05, MA’08, (SSHRCDoctoral Award); Cindy Pressé, BEd’08, (SSHRC Master’sAward); Julie Robillard (NSERC Doctoral Award); and MartinPicard, BSc’07, (NSERC Master’s Award). Karen Lomond,MSc’06, received the David Steward Memorial Fellowship.

Dr. Ross Andersen, BEd’85, MA’88, joined the Departmentas a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair. In 2008 we welcomed Dr. Theodore Milner as the new Department Chair.

In November 2007, the Department hosted the fourth annualconference of the Association of Physical Educators of Quebec.

Doctors Susanne Lajoie, BA’78, MA’80, Mark Aulls, BruceShore, BSc’65, DipEd’06, MA’67, Ron Stringer, Kim Cornish,Marilyn Fitzpatrick, MEd’86, PhD’97, Martin Drapeau,Alenoush Saroyan, PhD’89 and Victoria Talwar received SocialSciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada grants.

The 2008 recipient of the Faculty's Distinguished TeachingAward, Dr. Victoria Talwar, received a major grant from theCanada Foundation for Innovation’s Leaders Opportunity Fund.

Also receiving awards were Dr. Robert Savage (WilliamDawson Scholar), Dr. Martin Drapeau (Canadian PsychologicalAssociation’s President's New Researcher Award), and Dr. IngridSladeczek (Canadian Institute of Health Research seed grant).

Jessica Toste, BEd’05, MA’08, has been awarded a Canada-U.S.Fulbright Award, the G. M. Dunlop Distinguished ContributionAward (for Best Master’s Thesis), the Governor General’s GoldMedal, the McGill Alumni Association’s Graduate Award andthe Herschel and Christine Victor Fellowship in Education.

Also receiving doctoral awards were ECP students Kim Daniel,BSc’03, MSc(A)’06, Julie Hanck, Kaori Wada, MA’06, KristinSchaub, MA’07, and Elizabeth Roberts (Fonds québécois de larecherche sur la société et la culture) and Debora D'Iuso,BSc’05, MA’07, and Emily Blake, MA’06 (Fonds de la rechercheen santé du Québéc). Jessica McBride, BA’92, MA’07, was therecipient of the Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award from theNational Council on Problem Gambling in Washington, D.C.

Sonja Maksymiw-Duszara, Anika Maloni, BEd’04, and FalenKawennaha:wi Jacobs were all winners of the Dr. John A.Bryant Memorial Award. Falen Kawennaha:wi Jacobs alsowon the Judy Fish Graduate Award in Inclusive Education.

Dr. Panayiota Kendeou, Dr. Krista Muis and Dr. Tara Flanagan,MA’02, PhD’08, joined the Department as assistant professors.

The Department launched a seven-week McGill Mini-EdPsychLecture Series entitled “Learning: A Lifetime Journey.”

Academic Highlights

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The School of Information Studies (SIS) Formerly the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies (GSLIS)

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Dr. Kimiz Dalkir, BSc’83, MBA’85, received funding from theCentre francophone d’informatisation des organisationsfor her assessment of collective learning processes atOxfam-Québec.

Receiving grants from the Social Sciences and HumanitiesResearch Council of Canada (SSHRC) were Dr. AndrewLarge and Dr. Jamshid Beheshti, for their research onChildren’s Web Portals, and Dr. Eun Park, for her project:“Giving Life (to data) to Save Life (in the age of AIDS).”

Dr. Catherine Guastavino, BSc’97, has received fundingfrom the Canada Foundation for Innovation. Dr.Guastavino and colleagues also won the 2008 EuropeanAcoustics Association award. Dr. France Bouthillier hasbeen named president of the Canadian Council forInformation Studies (2008-2010).

Doctoral student Vincent Larivière received a three-yearSSHRC fellowship, while Leanne Bowler, BA’80, MLS’82,MEd’00, PhD’08, and Lorie Kloda, BA’98, MLIS’01, receivedfellowships from the Fonds québécois de la recherche sur

la société et la culture. Lorie Kloda also received theThomson Scientific/Medical Library Association DoctoralFellowship.

The School welcomes Dr. Emma Murphy, its first post-doctoral research fellow working under the supervisionof Dr. Guastavino. Dr. Diane Mittermeyer retired inJanuary 2008 and we wish her all the best.

In 2007, SIS professors and students hosted the third four-week Summer Institute on School Librarianship forIndonesian educators and librarians. Also in 2007, doctoral candidate Charles-Antoine Julien organized thefirst Montreal Library and Information Studies PhDSymposium, hosted at the School.

Through the generosity of retired McGill English profes-sor Lars Troide, the Teresa Troide Prize for Excellence inInformation Studies has been established in memory ofTeresa Troide, MLIS’90, an information specialist at theCanadian Pacific and Canadian National Railways from1995 to 2005.

Academic Highlights (Cont’d)